Abstract

REVUELTA PEREZ, Regina  and  DIAZ-ROMERO, Rosa María. Levels of infectivity of Mutans Streptococcus in lower two years old children an her mothers at Instituto Nacional de Peritanología. Perinatol. Reprod. Hum. [online]. 2006, vol.20, n.1-3, pp.27-32. ISSN 2524-1710.

Introduction: The window of infectivity described by Caufield in North-American children is a period during which children are more susceptible to the acquisition of Mutans streptococci (MS). As a consequence their dental caries susceptibility is increased. To date, this level of infectivity of MS has not been described in mexican children. Objectives: To determine the level of infectivity of MS in a group of Mexican children and to identify the association between MS in saliva from mothers and their children. A second objective was to determine the relationship between the colony-forming units (CFU) of MS with the number of teeth in the children's mouth and their saliva's buffering capacity. Materials and methods: A transversal, prospective and observational study was carried out on 71 healthy women who had their prenatal care at the INPer. At the time of the study their children were healthy and between 4-24 months of age. The children were grouped according to age: G1 comprised 35 children <12 month of age; G2 comprised 36 children >12 months of age. Bacteriological studies of their saliva (mother and children) were performed using the Caries Risk Test (CRT) kit [Ivoclar, Vivadent]. Results: Exists direct relationship with the CFU of the mother (r = .356), as well as the number of decayed teeth of the mother (r = .350). The level of infectivity of MS in this group of children was on average 14.9 months. Conclusions: There is a direct relationship between the CFU > 10⁵ and with the number of erupted teeth in the children. The preventive programs should be initiated during pregnancy as an attempt to prevent the premature tranSMission of MS from mothers to their infants.

Keywords : Mutans streptoccoci; dental caries; window of infectivity.

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